Thursday, June 24, 2010

Dangerous currents for kayakers

Lest you think a recent post exaggerated the dangers of Sierra runoff to kayakers and other river enthusiasts, take note – there have been two dramatic rescues on Northern California rivers in just the past couple of days.

On Wednesday, a California Highway Patrol helicopter ducked under high power lines to pull a hiker off a rock amid the raging waters of the Feather River in Plumas County. See the KCRA-TV video. (The young victim initially was identified as a kayaker or rafter. KCRA later reported he fell into the river from a cliff.) Another chopper rescue occurred Monday in Nevada County, according to KCRA, when a kayak carrying three paddlers overturned on a stretch of the South Yuba River. Two of them made it to shore but the third was caught on a rock and had to be airlifted out. The group's dog drowned.

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